Police say they do not have time to devote to the wider health and social complications which addicts who were arrested often presented with.
This meant people were being locked up when they needed specialist help.
Methodist Connect general manager Laura Black said she believed detoxing in police cells had a place for one-off offenders who may need a wake up call, but it only served to institutionalise people who had long-term issues.
"A dedicated facility based on care rather than containment is always going to work better in the long term.
''It is the only thing that is going to work."
That way the wider social and family issues that had led to an addiction could be dealt with, as well as the immediate issues of sobering up, she said.
"A cop shop is never going to do that."
A facility with trained and dedicated staff who could educate and support those who needed both short and long-term help was desperately needed, she said.
This was not to say there were not already services helping those in need in the community, but there was little in the way of a drop-in centre where people could get advice or help at any time of the day or night in a safe situation.
"I think if we are going to get into this as a community, we need to start talking about it now," she said.
The Salvation Army has a well-established and respected nationwide bridge programme.
In Dunedin, it offers a residential programme, a drop-in centre, women's and rural services and a relapse prevention programme.
Case worker Rob Taylor said the Salvation Army's programmes aimed to develop people beyond their addictions, so that they had an awareness of their place and purpose in society.
"Just because you are an addict doesn't mean you are a monster.
''They are people like you or I."
He said alcohol was still the most widely abused legal drug in Dunedin, while cannabis was the most widely abused illegal drug.
Some of the issues with the post acute stage, which the clients at the Salvation Army dealt with, included severe affects on sleep patterns, short-term and long-term memory loss, loss of the ability to concentrate and process, and co-ordination difficulties.
The Salvation Army staff agreed there needed to be a specialist detox centre where people could go before they hit rock bottom.
Dunedin and Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell said he could see the merits of such a centre.
A police officer's first option with people who were drunk or drugged was to take them home but often, for many reasons, this was not an option, especially if people were a threat to themselves or others, he said.
"There does seem to be a lack of appropriate places to take them."
It was time-consuming looking after anybody in the police cells, and a centre which looked further into the social and family issues of an alcoholic would be beneficial, he said.
